The Daily's Michael Barbaro, Krista Tippett, Brian Lehrer To Headline On Air Fest 2020

The audio innovators behind today's most creative podcasts, radio shows, music and sound art including The Daily, Dolly Parton's America, On Being with Krista Tippett, Stretch & Bobbito, Lost Notes, 99% Invisible, Twenty Thousand Hertz, Slate's Political Gabfest, and Netflix's I'm Obsessed with This will be among the headliners of the fourth annual On Air Fest 2020 at Brooklyn's Wythe Hotel from March 5-8, 2020.

The only festival of its kind where audio creators, industry leaders and fans come together to explore storytelling and creativity in sound, On Air Fest 2020 will immerse audiences in the sounds, voices, and new ideas that are pushing the boundaries of audio culture. On Air Fest has drawn sold-out crowds to the Wythe Hotel since 2017 and it presented its first West Coast edition, On Air LA Annex, in November 2019 at KCRW in Los Angeles.

The festival will showcase a long weekend of events unfolding throughout the hotel including performances and live podcasts in the Main Hall, art installations and intimate talks in the upper-level guest suites, listening parties, networking breakfasts and happy hours in the hotel's newest culinary concepts by Jon Neidich and Golden Age Hospitality - Le Crocodile and Lemon's. Festival-goers will even participate in an interactive audio crime story throughout the hotel created by Crimetown's Zac Stuart-Pontier and On Air Fest.

"On Air Fest brings together the most iconic and the most experimental artists and storytellers who are defining the culture of audio." said Scott Newman, Founder and Creative Director of work x work, the agency presenting On Air Fest. "Our festival guests will be immersed in the art of storytelling and leave transformed by the creative possibilities of sound."

"Risk-taking creativity is an important part of Brooklyn's story and the Williamsburg waterfront has served as a home for these pursuits for some time," says Peter Lawrence, Owner and General Manager of Wythe Hotel. "We are proud to host On Air Fest 2020 and a new generation of creative talent."

Highlights of On Air Fest 2020 include:

Thursday, March 5th:

• Hot Pod Summit, co-hosted by Hot Pod editor Nick Quah and work x work, brings together key decision-makers to discuss trends, opportunities, and challenges related to the podcast industry. This event is by invitation only.

• On Air Fest Opening Night Party celebrates the launch of the festival with a special musical performance and a live podcast episode of Mastercard's Fortune Favors The Bold with host Ashley C. Ford.

Friday, March 6th:

• The Daily's Michael Barbaro and Theo Balcolmb in conversation with Hot Pod editor Nick Quah

• Three days after Super Tuesday, WNYC's Brian Lehrer, The Breakdown's Shaun King, Emily Bazelon of Slate's Political Gabfest, and comedian Negin Farsad discuss the impact of podcasting on Election 2020

• 99% Invisible producer Avery Trufelman will preview the second season of Articles of Interest, her acclaimed podcast about what we wear. Using sound bites and images she will tell a parable about fashion involving a cliffside mansion, creepy dolls, and rattlesnakes.

• Futurists, fiction writers, and sound artists predict what podcasts will sound like a decade from now in 2030. Flash Forward creator Rose Eveleth kicks off the session presented by Simplecast with with a choose-your-own-adventure audio performance

• Editor Adam Rapoport hosts a live edition of the Bon Appétit Foodcast

Saturday, March 7th:

• Shima Oliaee, producer of the hit new podcast Dolly Parton's America, reveals what it is like being immersed in the Dollyverse and what she learned from the legend herself

• The first-ever live story presented by Dallas Taylor, creator and host of Twenty Thousand Hertz, which reveals the stories behind the world's most recognizable and interesting sounds

• Legendary hip hop radio DJs Stretch & Bobbito will present a live edition of their new podcast, The Actual Stretch and Bobbito Show.

• WNYC's John Schaefer interviews a special musical guest for Soundcheck

• A performance of Radiotopia's The Truth with Jonathan Mitchell, which is described as "movies for your ears."

• The premieres of a new work by an emerging audio artist supported by the On Air Fest 2020 Residency Program. The resident will stay at the Wythe Hotel for five nights to create their work and will present it live in an intimate guest suite.

Sunday, March 8th

• Krista Tippett interviews a special guest for a live edition of On Being with Krista Tippett

• A live episode of KCRW's Lost Notes, named the "best podcast of the year" by Vulture, with poet Hanif Abdurraqib and The Mixtape Museum creator Regan Sommer McCoy

• Netflix hosts a brunch at Lemon's and a live taping of its hit podcast I'm Obsessed With This with host Bobby Finger

• An audio odyssey from The Paris Review featuring authors and actors performing stories, poems, and interviews from the magazine's archive accompanied by live scoring from musicians David Cieri and Emily Wells

• Adobe hosts an all day hospitality suite with magical views, tasty snacks and creative programming

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